1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an improved orthopaedic device, and specifically to a orthopaedic support for body limbs or joints with emphasis on the construction of the support for comfort fit.
2. Description of Related Art
A variety of orthopaedic supports have been proposed to provide cushioned support to the limb, and most typically to an ankle and the lower leg after an injury. Typically, these ankle supports offer a rigid or a semi-rigid shell for sturdy support with padding for comfort. The padding material typically comprises foam, bladder, or other cushioning material. For example, in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,628,945, granted Dec. 16, 1986 to Glenn W. Johnson Jr., and entitled “Inflatable Ankle Brace with Porous Compressible Filler,” an ankle brace comprising a rigid outer shell with an air-inflatable, bladder type liner is described. In that patent, the support is provided by the outer shells and the comfort is provided by the air-inflatable liner. Another design for an ankle brace is disclosed by the U.S. Pat. No. 5,348,530 granted on Sep. 20, 1994, also granted to Tracy E. Grim, William K. Arnold, and Joseph M. Iglesias and entitled “Pneumatic Ankle Brace with Bladder and Pump Arrangement.” The '530 patent discloses an ankle brace design with rigid side supports and pneumatic bladder to serve as the cushioning material between the side supports and the wearer's leg.
Although these patents and others describe the padding materials used to improve the comfort to the person wearing the orthopaedic support, none of the previous designs suggest the provision in a single structure of different levels of support in different local regions of the limb being supported by the support.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,439 to Peters discloses a pad made from several sheets of material, forming closed cells of pressurized air. The cells are all of uniform size and shape and do not provide specialized local support at distinct points on the ankle. The cells must be closed and filled with pressurized air, because otherwise the pad would not provide any support.